The best student discounts you can sign up to NOW

Never again will getting a discount be as easy as it is now for students - so make the most of it.

Whether you have an NUS card or just a student card, always ask for a discount. Flash that card whenever you can - wear it as a badge if you must!

There are also some particularly good discounts you can get (the kind that makes non-students very jealous) online and on the high street if you know where to look - here are some of the best:

Apple

As a student, you can get access to the legendary Apple Store for Education. It’s so hard to get a discount on an Apple product for non-students generally, but as a savvy student you can get a discount online, or just flash your NUS card in-store.

The catch is the discount is only on items that would be useful for university - such as MacBooks (15% off). Things like iPads get a smaller discount (5% off) because you don’t really need one for university. There’s no big discount on Apple Watches, sorry - you can’t really pretend it’s going to help you with your Physics coursework...

McDonald’s (any student card)

Students aren’t strangers to a bit of Maccy D’s - especially after a few beers. You can get a student discount every day at McDonald’s, with a valid NUS Extra card. This means a free pack of medium fries when you purchase a Big Mac or McChicken sandwich. Tasty.

Even if you don’t have an NUS card you can still be tucking into some freebies. Buy any Extra Value or Deli meal with a valid university student card and you’ll get a free hamburger, cheeseburger or McFlurry.

Superdrug

Get 10% off in Superdrug when you flash your NUS card in-store (unfortunately it doesn’t work online yet). The store sells a lot of the same products and brands as retail giant Boots, but generally has lower prices.

A 10% discount isn’t that unusual for a student, but this is a bit special as the discount is on stuff you’ll really need (lots of Lynx for the lads) as well as big make-up brands that are very rarely discounted.

Co-op

The Co-op is the only UK supermarket to give 10% discount on their shopping, every time you shop with an NUS Card. There’s a potential for massive savings as everybody needs to buy food and essentials. The really good thing about this, is that it works on offers and, most importantly, booze.

Cinema

Student Film Firstis the best place to get free cinema tickets as a student, but you’ll need an ‘.ac.uk’ student email address to sign up. You’ll get to see FREE preview showings of brand new films (so new they’re not even out yet) and all you need to do in return is fill out a short survey after the film telling them what you thought about it.

Another way to see free films as a student is to join E4’s Slackers Club at Picturehouse Cinemas. It has student only film previews that show about once a month. Just go into your nearest Picturehouse Cinema with your student ID and ask to be signed up. It’s totally free, and after you do that you can apply for free tickets.

Spotify (half price)

Spotify is a massive music streaming service where you can listen to tracks on demand from all of the biggest artist from around the world (well… everyone but Taylor Swift).

With the NUS Extra discountyou can get 50% off Spotify Premium which allows you to listen to unlimited music without advertisements for £4.99 a month for 12 months.

Topshop/Topman (on sale too)

Topshop notoriously never has discount codes. Luckily students can flash their student cards and get 10% off (we’ve even seen it go up to 15% off) every time they shop. Unusually, the discount also works on sale items too, which is great as items start from £1and you can get them delivered to your nearest store for free.

Amazon student

If you’re a student you can get between 5 & 10% discountat Amazon. It doesn't work on some categories, including electronic items unfortunately. Once you’ve entered your NUS code at the checkout, it’ll automatically take off the discount for you every time you shop for a year.

There’s also a little known trick where Amazon Student users can get £1 of Amazon Music or Kindle Store credit every time they order something and DON’T take advantage of the one day delivery. The credit will only work on MP3 music, e-books or audiobooks, but if you’re not in a rush to get your parcel, it's worth doing.

The Boring Bit

SMS wants to help you live the life you want on the budget you're stuck with but we aren't the Economic Bible, so please don't take our word as gospel as we can't accept any liability if our tips aren't right for you – everyone's different, after all.

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